Safety lock for firearms



`hay 19, 1960 1 F. MuLNo SAFETY Lo'cx FOR FIREARMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fiflecl May 9, 1958 www1-on LESTER F.v MULNO 4 BY MWAYJENNEY, wmsa x. m1911111 f ATTRNl-:Ys

4-Lester F. Mulno, Worcester, Mass.,

v wherein:

SAFETY LOCK FOR FIREARMS assgnor to Harring- 4ton & Richardson, Inc., Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed'Maysr, 195s, ser. No. 134,186

16 claims. (cl. 42--66)- quick use of the rearm in case of an emergency; and

locking |devices. preventing the discharge of `a iirea'rm have also been suggested, but they Vare relatively expensive and `often require a redesign of the firearm.

The principal objects of-the present invention are to overcome theraforementioned difficulties and to provide a reliable safety lock which can be applied to conventional tirearms without appreciably increasing the cost of manufacture and which permit the quick use of' a loaded rearm, and toprovide a locking device whichA is tamper-proof and which is `quickly operated by a small key which may be carried on the person.' q

Further objects relate `to various features of construction and will be apparent from a consideration? of vthe following description and the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation showing the invention applied to a conventional revolver;

` Fig. 2 is a perspective of the lower part of the threaded member or worm of the locking device;

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the slotted cap or key guide through which the key is inserted; y Y

Fig. 4 is a perspective of the end portion of a key shank engageable `with the end of thethreaded member; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view showingthe inveni tion applied to a single barrel shotgun;

Fig.` 6 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. `8 is a fragmentary plan view showing the invention applied to a semi-automatic rifle;

imi]

Aoperated by a screwdriver,

l isaiasi@ 2 member is operated by a removable key or the like means which is formed with an end portion engageable with the outer end portion of the threaded member.

In order to prevent the locking means Vfrom being knife or the like implements I`provid`e a rotatable cap having a slot shaped to conform with the cross-sectional area of the key shank and the outer end portion of the threaded memberand the shank are formed with spaced slots and projections or the like interengageable parts so designed thatit would be difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce without knowing the particular design. For example, the outer end portion of thethreaded member may be formediwith Fig. I9`Ais a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 8; Y

and Y Fig., l0 is an enlarged Vsection of the locking device.

In accordance `with the present invention I provide a locking mechanism for a firearm of the type having a frame, a firing member, such as -a `hammer or bolt carrying the firing pin, supported within the frame to swing or slide to and from cocked position, a spring acting on the ring member tourgeit toi-tiring position and a trigger umechanism for releasably holding the firing member in cocked position, all of which parts are more or'less conventional. The lockingmechanism is carried by the frame and comprisesa locking member or part `which is movable toward vand away from the tiring member and may include or be associated with a part engageable with the tiring member so as to hold it in a position such that it cannot be fired. The locking mechanism preferably includes a worm `or other threaded means carried within the frame 'for moving the locking member orl part to and from locking position, and this threaded spaced V-shaped` or oblique'slotsV which receive the spaced prongs; of the Vforked end of a key,` thus preventingascrew'driver, knife blade or the like implement from being inserted through the slotted cap to turn the threadedmember. Such la key may be conveniently carried on the person in` thesame manner as a house o r automobilekey and` it maybe used in themat'ter of a few seconds to lock or unlock the firearm'.

4 Referring to Figs. `1 to 4, the embodiment shown thereink is applied to `a revolver of more or less conventional construction, having a frame 1 formed with a cen- "tral chamber 2in whichthe operating parts are ,disposed and since such parts are well known in the artonly those directly relatedto my locking device are shown. The frame 1 pivotally supports a hammer 3 the under part of which is notched to providethev cocked and safety rebound positions. l A trigger 4 having a holding linger 5 is engageable with the notched parts `of the hammer tohold it in either-position, here shownV as the safety rebound position.

spring assembly comprising a guidestem 10` having a conical lower end andja compression spring 11 which is circumposed about the guide stem. One end of the spring '1v1 acts on the head Sand its other end on a washer V12 formed with a rounded surface received in a complementary,depressionformed in the lower part of the chamber 2.

The lower end of the ,handle portion of the frame is drilledV to provide a passage 14 communicating with the chamberV 2 and the lower end of this passage isrsomewhat enlarged asindicated at V15. within the passage 14 is a wormzor threaded member 16 and a laterally extending pin 18 engages the groove parts of fthe worm so that rotation of the worm in one direction or the other moves it inwardly or outwardly. The inner end of the worm is conical and engages the end of the guide stem., The outer end of the worm is formed with spaced V-shaped notches 20 separated by an intervening web 21. Y Y

Rotatably mounted in the enlarged passage 15 is a capor key guide 22, the closed end of which is formed with an elongateV slot f24- (Fig. 3), vand its side wall is grooved to accommodate a retaining pin 25. A key 26 Y, is formed with a at shank Z8 having a crosssectional area of the same shape as the slot 24 soas snugly to lit the slot, andthe end -of the shank is forked to ,provide a pair of spaced V-shaped prongs 3@ which are complementary to the slots 20. l

v With this construction and arrangement of parts the key 26 may readily be inserted through the key. guide so that its forked end -fits the slots and rotation of the key and guide-effects the turning of the worm to and from locking position. When the hammer is in the safety rebound position, as shown in Fig. 1, clockwise movement of the key brings the end of the worm into direct contact with the guide stem so thatthe hammer is locked in rebound` position gandphene r :annot belcocked Patentedduiy 19, 1960 w Outwardly of the notched parts thel 'hammer isJ formed with a curved surfaced which contacts the concaveV surface yof the head 8 of the Vmain Rotatably mounted Y a central chamber 36 in which Y position,|

v tiring pin 4Z. `A torsion type spring end ofthe worm or red. When thus locked the key may be withdrawn and the hammer can only be released by reinserting the key and turning it counterclockwise to disengage the Worm from the'guide stem.

kept handy for emergency use with little or no danger of it being used by an'unauthorized person or accidentally discharged.

In Figs. 5 to`7 I have shown the invention applied to a single barrel shotgun having a frame 35 formed with the operating parts' are disposed and since such parts are more or less conventional only those directly related to my locking device are shown. The frame carries a pin 37 which pivotally supports a hammer S8 having its under parts notched to provide the'cocked and safety rebound positions.

A trigger 40v (Fig. olhaving a holding inger 41 engages one of the notched parts to hold the hammer in either Y ere shown as a safety rebound position, wherein'the inner face of the hammer is spaced from the 'l Y v 44 is carried by the pivot pin and one end of this spring acts on the under face of the hammer and its otherend acts against an abutment 46 on the frame.

One of the side walls ofthe frame 35 is drilled to provide a circular opening adjacent to -the underside of the hammer andthis opening receives a sleeve 43 which is brazed, Welded or otherwise secured within the opening. Therouiter part of this sleeve is enlarged to accommodate the cap or key guide 22 which is the same as that of the previously described embodiment and as the other parts of the lock arersubstantially identical, the same or similar reference characters are applied to corresponding parts. y

It will be noted that in this embodiment the conical 16a directly engages the under surface of the hammer and the Vsame advantages above set forth in connection with'the previously described embodiments are true of thisembodment.

In Figs. 8 to 10 v'the inventionis Vshown'applied to a semi-automatic rie of the well-known type which comprises 'a receiver 501 Within which is mounted a reciprocating bolt 51 which slidably supports the firing pin 52. In this type` of firearm the action of the bolt controls the firing and since the other parts of the firing mechanism are well known in the art the following description will be directed to the operation of my safety lock on the bolt.

The side part of the rear ofthe bolt 51 which contacts the side of the receiver 50 is recessed as indicated `at 54 and the side of the receiver is provided with a concentric opening which receives one end of a sleeve S6, the parts being brazed, Welded or otherwisee suitably secured. The outer part of he sleeve 56 is enlarged to receive the cap or key guide 22 which is substantially identical to those of lthe previously described embodiments and as the other parts of the lock have been previously described a further description in unnecessary.

It will be noted that in this type of rearm the bolt 51 is normally retracted, as shown, and hence when the locking worm 16 is in locking posit-ion, as best illustrated in Fig. 10, neither the bolt nor the tiring pin can be moved toward` the ring chamber. A complete turn of the key in a counterclockwi'se direction is etective to r'eleasethe locking worm so that when the trigger is pressed the tiring of the cartridges take place. While I have shown land described several desirable embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that Hthis 'disclosure'istor the purpose of illustration' and that fflvarious changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the'invention'as'set forth in the |appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a firearm having a frame, a hammer supported by said trame so as to move to and from cocked position, a spring-loaded guide stem within said frame acting on said hammer when in cocked position to vurge it to tiring position, and trigger means carried by' said 'frame for releasably holding said Vhammer-inl cocked'position, releasable locking means carried by said frame comprising a threaded locking member including "a part movable toward and away fromthe `lower end of said stem, the locking means being'engge'able with said stem for preventing it fromirrioving to cocked position, the threaded member being movable within said frame for moving said part to and from locking position, Vand key means engageable with and disengageable from the outer end portion of said threaded member Ifor turning it to and from locking position.

2. A re rn asset forth in claim l, wherein said part is conical shaped and integral with the inner end of said threaded member.

3. A firearm as set forth in clalm l, wherein the outer tion, and trigger means carried by said frame for releasably holding said firing member in cocked position, releasable locking means carried by said frame comprising a threaded locking member movable toward and away from said firing member, the locking means being engagevable' with said tiring member so as to hold it in a position such that it cannot re, and key means having an inner end portion engageable with and Vdisengageable from the outer end portion of said threaded member for turning it to and from locking position, the outerA end portion of said threaded member having spaced slots' and the inner end portion of the key means having spaced projections fitting the slotsin the threaded locking member.

5. In a firearm having'a frame, a tiring member supported by said `frame soV as to move to and from cocked posi-tion, `a spring within said Iframe Aacting on said ring member when in cocked position to urge it to tiring position, and trigger means carried by said frame for releasably holding said firing member in cocked position, releasable locking means carried by said frame comprising `a threaded .locking member movable toward `and away from s'aid tiring member, the lockingmeans being engageable with said iringmernber so as to hold fit in a position such that it cannot fire, and key means having an inner 'end portion engageable with and disengageable from the outer end portion of said threaded member for turning it' to and from locking position, the outer end portion of the threaded member having V-shaped slots and the inner end portion of the key means leaving V-shaped prongs itting said V-shaped slots.

'6; In a rearm having =a frame, a tiring member supported by said frame so as to move to and from cocked position, a spring within said frame acting on said tiring member when in cocked position to'urge it to firing position, and trigger means carried by said frame for releasably holding said firing member in cocked position, releasable locking means carried lby saidfrarne comprising a rotatable locking memberrnovable into and out of locking engagement with the tiring member upon rotation of said locking member, and key means having an inner end portion engageable withV and disengageable from the outer end of the rotatable locking member, the outer end of Isaid locking 'member having a plurality'of spaced recesses and the inner end of the key having comisa ' plementary projecting portions, the outer end of the locking member between the recesses being substantially iiush` with the remaining outerend portions to exclude from the recesses objects having transverse blade portions extending substantially perpendicular to the -axis of rotation of the locking member.

7. Arearm as set forth in claim 6, wherein a rotatable key :guide is disposed ladjacent the outer end of the rotatable locking member, said guide having an outer end wall and an aperture therein through which the inner end of the key extends to engage the end of the rotatable member.

8. A firearm as set forth in claim 6, wherein the outer end portion of the rotatable member is formed with V-shaped slotsV and the inner end of said key means is formed with V-shaped prongs complementary to said V-shaped slots.

9. A iirearm as set forth in claim 6, wherein the outer end portion of the rotatable member is formed with V-shaped slot-s and the inner end of said keylmeans is formed with V-shaped prongs complementary to said V-shaped slots, and a rotatable key guiding means adjacent the outer end of the rotatable member, said guiding means having an outer end Wall and an aperture therein through which the inner end of the key extends to engage r the outer end of the rotatable member.

' ment of the firing 10. In a firearm having a frame, a firing member sup- Y ported by said frameso as to move to and from cocked position, a spring within said frame acting on said firing member when in cocked position to urge it to firing position, and trigger means carried by said frame for releasably holding said tiring member in cocked position, releasable locking-means carried by said frame comprising a Ithreaded locking member movable toward and away from said liring member, the locking means being engageable with said tiring member so as to hold it in a position such that it cannot fire, and key means having an inner end portion engageable .with and disengageable from the outer end portion of said threaded member -for turning it to and from locking position, the outer end portion of said locking member havingV a radially extending slot having a bottom oblique to the end of the member, and

the inner end of the key having an oblique end portion to fit the slot in the outer end of the locking member.

11. In a firearm having a frame, ring means including a firing member movable within the frame when the gun is tired and a trigger in control of the firing means, releasable locking means for positively obstructing movemeans against operative Vdisplacement when the locking means is in locking position comprising a rotatable threaded locking member within the frame and movable toward and away from locking engagement with the firing means, an aperture in the frame coaxially disposed with relation to the outer end portion of the locking member, and actuating means for rotat- Iing the locking member into and out of positive locking engagement with the iiring means comprising a key operative through the aperture in the frame to engage the outer end of the threaded member, said actuating means having provision for preventing operation of the locking member from outside the gun by a bladed member having a straight blade end perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the locking member.

12. In a iirearm having a frame, a firing member supported by said 'frame so as to move to and from cocked position, a spring said frame acting on said tiring member when in cocked position to urge it to ring position, and trigger means carried by said frame for releasa-bly holding said tiring member in cocked position, releasable locking means for said tiring member comprising a threaded locking member carried by the firearm frame `and movable toward and away from said tiring member, the locking member having an inner end portion engageable With the tiring member to lock said tiring member against ring movement, a key'guide disposed in rotatable coaxial rel-ation to the threaded locking member outwardly of the outer end of said member, a key passage through the key guide, and keyrmeans insertable through said passage and engageable with the outerV end portion of the threaded member for rotating said member into and out of locking engagement with the iring member.

13. A firearm ias set forth in claim 12 wherein the locking member has a conically-shaped inner end portion.

14. A -irearm as set forth in claim 12 wherein the locking member has a steep pitch thread so that approximately :a single rotation of the locking member is suflicient to move the locking member between locking and release position.

15. A firearm as set forth in claim 12 where the threaded engagement of the locking member with the firearm frame is provided by a pin disposed in the frame generally transverse to the axis of rotation of the locking member and intersecting the thread groove thereof.

Y References Cited in the iile of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 2.0.3773 Austria .p.--- June 10, 1905 UNITED STATES PATENT oEETCE CERTIFICATE GF 'CORRECTION Column 4, line 60, for "leaving" Signed and sealed. this 27th day (SEAL) Attest: KARL H AXLINE Attesting Gcer July le, 1960 s in the-printed specification tion and that the said Letters of December 1960e ROBERT C. WATSON Commissioner of Patents UNTTED STATES PATENT OEETCE CERTIFECATE F lCORRECTION Patent No@ 2,945Y316 Lester F., Mulno pears in theprinted specification rection and that the said Letters July is, 1960 It is hereby certified that error ap of the above `numbered patent requiring cor Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 60, for "leaving" read having Signed and sealedY this 27th day of December 196m1 (SEAL) Attest: KARL H., AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Commissioner of Patents Attesting Ocer 

